CHILDREN

     I listened to a talk show the other day about people who have children and don't want them. It's a topic that touches me greatly.

     Having spent my career working with children, I've seen it all. There are many reasons why people may not want the children they have. Parents may try to keep that issue private but kids know what's going on. 

    It is very cruel to kids when they are not wanted. Rejection influences every part of a kid's life. I've seen kids struggle in school performance, behavior and socialization.

    My children were adopted. I often think of the procedure we had to go through. 

    We had to have a serious discussion with each other if we really wanted children. My view was that I could have a happy satisfying life with children or without. We chose to adopt. 

    Now we had just moved to a new area so we thought we'd get an application in. 

   First of all, there was an extensive application form. We had to get number of references. Then, there was a two hour interview. We were really made to think about things. 

   We were told that there could be a two year wait so the clock started ticking. A placement was made in three months and it took us completely by surprise. We did not have any baby clothes or  furniture. We had to ask for extra time to buy things.

    They show you the baby and then they ask a number of times if we want the child. That was hard. I wondered what they were doing. 

    So what I'm thinking is that if all people had to go through this procedure that there might be fewer problems of parents not wanting the children they've got.  

    It's a much different world than when women stayed in the home. Now both parents are out of the home and care is shared by other organizations. 

   And yes, both my kids will be reading this post and they will make comments to Dad. 

A VISIT TO THE OPTOMETRIST

      Today was my yearly visit with the optometrist. Here, seniors get one appointment with an optometrist each year. 

      My optometrist is a former student Dr. D so that is a pleasure to be with someone I'm familiar with. I also taught his two brothers and a sister. Dr. d was an all round good influence in the school.  And he was a very able and competitive basket ball player. Smooth!

    But I'm getting off my topic. 

    I joked with Dr. D about one test and the possibility of cheating! However, my real concern about that test is that I do it correctly so that the measurement is correct. It's a peripheral vision test. You are told to look at a little black square in the center of the diagram and notify them when you see any movement in the diagram. I find it hard to concentrate on the little black square. My eyes wander around the square. However, they are satisfied with the test results. 

    However, after the examination , I was told that my prescription had changed very little and that I didn't need new glasses. I was told that I had two very healthy eyes. I had cataracts done on both eyes two years ago. I only need reading glasses. I realize that I am a very fortunate senior to not have visual challenges. 

    I also enjoyed the little visit where we talk about old teachers and students.

    

BIRTH STORIES

       Births are spine tingling events. I told you about my birth in a post. It's too bad that often the person's birth story is not shared with them. I heard my birth story from my Dad but not because he was telling it to me. He was telling others and I happened to be listening. 

     My two youngest brothers have stories. I was 15 when my youngest brother was born so was part of the story. 

    My third brother was born in the old wooden shack we lived in. He was born in February which is a brutal winter month. Roads were poor at the time and there was no snow removal so all winter travel was by horses. Somebody brought the doctor out and the wondrous event began. The event ended  with a bit of an emergency. The baby was not breathing. My Mom had some problems that had to be dealt with. When my Mom was stabilized the Doctor put his attention on the infant. The Doctor gave my brother artificial respiration. One puff and my brother began breathing and crying. The Doctor was almost a chain smoker so my Dad always joked that the tobacco breath was what started my brother breathing. 

     My youngest brother doesn't know this but he was almost born in the car on the highway.

    We were  taking Mom to the small town with an eight bed hospital. This was well before her due date. Again it was mid February. Open roads at that time were still not reliable. The roads could be blocked with snow for a week or ten days. Roads were gravel. On our way   the old Studebaker made a 360 in the middle of the road and continued down the road as if nothing had happened. However, the passengers in the car were pretty stressed. So it's easy to say that this stress could have brought on the birth right there out on the highway. However, about two weeks later Mom came home with our new baby brother. 

    Later on my brother became the director of nursing in the little hospital he was born in. And he looked up the records on his birth. 

    

A SECOND GO AROUND WITH MONITORS

     I recently wrote about the challenges of buying a computer monitor. The monitor I bought sometimes had green lines across the screen for a few minutes. I tried  another cord with blue ends and there were not green lines. Well, I was OK with that. 

     However, the micro manager wanted the proper cord that came with the monitor. The store said they couldn't give just a cord from another monitor. The whole monitor would have to be exchanged. So finally, we decided to exchange the first monitor so that we could get the proper cord that would work. 

     Sounds simple? Not quite to fast.

     They didn't have the same monitor for the exchange! They could get the same monitor in seven days but that means I would be without  a computer for seven days. So we decided to take a different model. So there I was setting up another monitor. Physically setting up the monitor was easy but it didn't come on. I knew that there had to be an on switch somewhere , but I couldn't see anything. There was a diagram showing a number of switches but I could not find them on the monitor.

    I finally found the switches. The switch indicators were very faint on the lower right front side. The actual switches were underneath the monitor, How dumb! The switches were black on a black background and very small. They are about 3 mm by 5 mm which is very small. Just imagine old fingers fumbling around to find these switches?

     So at least the cords work for this monitor. I hope it's the last monitor I'll ever need. 

REMEMBERING DOREEN

       My only sister, Doreen, passed away on this day in 1953. 

      Her death from illness was not expected and saddened the family greatly. 

     Seventy two years later there are very few people left who remember her in person. 

CANADA FLAG DAY

      February 15 is Canada's national flag day. The flag design was adopted by parliament and the flag raised officially on Feb. 15, 1964. So the flag is officially 60 years old. 

      Canada has had variations of flags since we were a colony. Gradually, we gained independence little by little until we were able to have our own distinctive flag. 

      Through the late 50's and early 60's there was a hot debate in parliament about what flag we should have. Many politicians and people wanted to keep the old red ensign. However , after many designs were submitted the red maple leaf with 2 red bars down each side was accepted. 

     The official flag raising was on Feb. 15 ,  1964. 

     To me this was a day in your life that is special and you remember it until the end of your life.

     In 1964 I was teaching in the Sir Alexander Mackenzie School in Inuvik. About 1000 kids were enrolled in the school at that time. We all went out to the front of the school where the flag pole was and a large brass monument of three rings representing three groups of people.  It was a clear day that was bitterly cold. 

     We had a very active cadet group and they proudly stood on guard while short speeches were made and then the flag was raised. All through this time I was watching the poor cadets as their ears gradually froze. I was hoping things would end so the kids could get back in the school.

     As Canadians we have been somewhat laid back about patriotic issues. Lately, Pres. Trump had put a fire under us with his comments and we are becoming much more patriotic. 

    However, I still look back to the day when I was present at the flag rising. 

MY ASSUMER NEEDS ADJUSTMENT

      In the last post I took the privilege of making some assumptions about my readers. 

      I was passing out advice. That's dangerous. I assumed that people needed advice? I assumed that all my readers were much younger and that when they reach my age the advice will be helpful.

      Was I in for a surprise. Many readers had the advice I gave them and many had more advice to give. 

     Well, I guess that's how it works. We don't know the other person and the other person may have more experience and knowledge than we think. 

     The comments were an eye opener and they were most helpful. I hope other people learned from the comments and so will have an easier time navigating old age.

    I will have to be much more careful about assumptions I make from now on. 

A COUPLE OF ASSIST DEVICES

      There were some excellent comments on my last post that reminded me of some things I should say.

      My last post  covered the challenges of manuals and instructions on various devices. We all know the challenges of setting up new products.  When the same manual is meant for a dozen or more products things get fuzzy in a hurry.

     For seniors, some ordinary activities become a challenge. so around the home things we've done all the time become a bit of a challenge. 

    So here are two things that are a great help around the home.

    I have a good magnifying glass which is out and handy to use. I have a good magnifying glass which has a light with it. I got this magnifying glass at the casino. Once again I don't gamble but I do eat at the Casino. A while ago they gave us goody bags and the magnifying glass was one of the things in the bag. We both got a bag so we each have our own magnifying glass. They are a big help when it comes to dealing with the nasty small print. 

      Then I have a very special flashlight. I keep a flash light handy both day and night. I recommend these little flashlights as they have a special lens and bulb that makes things very bright. I would like to have another flash light These flashlights run for a bout 50 dollars but are well worth it. I got mine at a very good price. I was out with my birding group and I looked down and saw something that looked like a lanyard. I kicked it and found this flashlight in the snow. A homeless person had dropped it. 

    So these are two devices that I find very helpful.

     Now if I could only focus the camera to get a clear picture, life would be good. 

I'M BACK

       Well some of you probably didn't know that I was gone. I had some broken equipment here. 

       I had noticed that once in a while my monitor went off and if I clicked a switch on the monitor it came back. So I was expecting the monitor to go and it did. The monitor I was using was made in 2005. It was the Cadillac of monitors. It had bells and whistles. I bought it on a yard sale. The guy was going for a bigger better monitor. 

     So I went out to Best Buy and bought a monitor. I  got time in the evening to set it up. I turned it on and NOTHING. So that really got my puzzler going. I started to think that what if it's the computer. There was a little button on the back of the monitor. The button was not labeled and there was nothing in the brief  instructions they gave.

    Today we phoned LG and asked about the button. We found out that it is an OFF ON switch. So as soon as I clicked the little switch, my new monitor came on. So I lost sleep on this issue and I used up some of my best swear words.

   Why can't they write something a little clearer so that old people can understand? 

     

IT'S COLD

       We have been having a cold spell lately. It's not breaking any records but it's cold. We've had lows of minus 30 C or minus 20 F. They're not records but it's a very uncomfortable time. We've had some snow and I don't like getting out to shovel. 

      Now those who have followed my blog will say, "What are you talking about? You have been bragging about how tough you are when it gets cold. When you were a little kid you played outside all winter. "

      Well that was then . This is now. I'm about 80 years older. I am also not dressing as well as I used to. I am not wearing my heavy winter under wear and that makes a lot of difference. 

    My Dad passed away 16 years ago yesterday. We had the funeral and burial about 5 days later. It was and extremely cold day when he was interred. It was so cold the preacher kept his tuque on. We did not stay long in the cemetery. Some people did not get out of their cars.

      My Mother died in late November of 1973. She was buried the day after the funeral about 100 miles away. Only  the immediate family was there for interment. Her four sons carried the casket through deep snow and you guessed it. It was cold.

      My sister died in Feb of 1953. So we went to the same cemetery and you guessed it in very cold weather. 

     So at this time of year we get the coldest weather of the year. We are used to it and if we're smart we'll dress appropriately. 

GROUND HOG DAY

      Well, tomorrow is ground hog day when we get some very important information. We'll see what happens.

      When I was a little  beaner (kid) Ground hog day was always talked about in school. We probably had an art class or something on Groundhog day. We did go out and check the weather and discuss whether it was clear or cloudy. 

     However, in my little mind I could never make sense of ground hog day. First, out in the middle of Saskatchewan , there were no ground hogs and I knew that. How could a ground hog in Pennsylvania USA know what was going to happen? This ground hog was 2000 miles away. For that matter how in the world could a groundhog know about weather and make a forecast? So I spent ground hog day pondering these questions rather than having fun. 

     So where I am in Alberta, Canada, we have Balzac Billie who will tell us what's going on.   Balzac is just north of Calgary. 

     Well, now there are no groundhogs in Alberta so I'm not sure how the deed will get done. The odd ground hog has been seen in Alberta but there are no native animals. Ground hogs have been seen moving through the province. I thought I saw a ground hog one time but it turned out to be a beaver. 

     The custom of predicting when spring will come by using animals has a very long tradition. It's noted in various areas of Europe. Other animals were used as in some areas a bear was used to make the forecast. It seems that German speaking areas celebrated ground hog day more than other groups. 

     So where ever you are tomorrow enjoy your day.